“I just think that so much research and development needs to take place that hasn’t taken place,” he said during a CNN town hall earlier this month. “And that marijuana products deal – or compete directly with legal prescription drugs that statistically kill 100,000 people a year, and there are no documented deaths due to marijuana.”

However, PolitiFact notes that while the any toxicity in marijuana hasn’t been known to kill, cannabis mixed with other drugs (alcohol, for one) can produce deadly behavior, like driving your car into a tree. In those cases, people didn’t overdose on pot, but they died nonetheless.

It’s almost how people have died from using LSD not because of any physiological effects but because it inspired them to fly (off buildings).

“The main risk from marijuana is from the risky or stupid things people do after using it, such as driving, rather than from any toxic effects of the substance itself, which is remarkably safe,” said Dr. Jerome Avorn, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

About The Author

Raul Duke has been working as a journalist in Southern California for two decades. The medical marijuana juggernaut is one of his many beats. He's a longtime Westside resident who needs to renew his doctor's recommendation soon. If you have news tips, reach out: raul@the420times.com